These get mentioned everywhere from popular literature to your local church. But there are other stories in the Bible that preachers and Sunday school teachers tend to skip over because . . . well . . . because they seem crazy—the kind of stories that make us change the subject quickly when children bring them up, because we don’t know why they’re in the Bible or what they could possibly mean. You want examples? There's the time a prophet calls a couple of bears out of the woods to maul a gang of rowdy teenagers. There's also a story about a woman who dresses provocatively and tricks her father-in-law into getting her pregnant. And their son ends up in the genealogy of Jesus! What are we to make of these strange, sometimes cryptic, sometimes even off-color stories? What are they doing in the Bible? In Crazy Stories, Sane God popular author and teacher John Alan Turner takes us on a wild and unpredictable ride through the weirdest and least familiar stories in the Bible. Through it all, Turner shows us how even these odd episodes reveal important things about the character and nature of God and, consequently, what they mean for us today.

    Discover what three million readers have already discovered: that true significance is found only in Christ.Robert McGee's bestselling book has helped millions of readers learn how to be free to enjoy Christ's love while no longer basing their self-worth on their accomplishments or the opinions of others. In fact, Billy Graham said that it was a book that "should be read by every Christian."What makes this book so uniquely powerful is understanding that the journey begins in a very private place—your thoughts. “When I fail at something, I feel lousy about myself. When others do not approve of me, I can’t seem to get over it. Sometimes it feels like I’ll never measure up.”These are the universal lies that trigger the cycle of self-doubt, robbing you of joyful living. Now, you can free yourself from these self-defeating lies.One by one, The Search for Significance confronts these lies, dismantles them, and points you to a higher truth that is the source of life’s meaning. It points you to Almighty God—the source of life itself.In this re-launch of this timeless classic, you will:Gain new skills for getting off the performance treadmillDiscover how four false beliefs have negatively impacted your lifeLearn how to overcome obstacles that prevent you from experiencing the truth that your self-worth is found only in the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of ChristWith a hands-on workbook and new, revised material, now is the perfect time to discover The Search for Significance. If you’ve already encountered its life-changing truths, there is no better time to explore them all over again, enriching your life in the process. Your own journey begins with this step.Other products in the Search for Significance family of products include a devotional journal and youth edition.

    Dan DeHaan puts God the Father back into the Christian perspective of what it means to live this way of life called Christianity in The God You Can Know. Burdened by contemporary Christians' lack of understanding of the nature of Almighty God, he wrote this book to help readers become intimate with God by studying His characters and attributes.

    Journeying through his own grief, Ziglar realized many things about himself, his family, his priorities, and God. In this comforting book, he uses his experience to encourage readers to deal with the reality of loss and learn to take up the threads of life again as they find consolation and inspiration in the Giver of all Peace.

    His insights into the human condition are possibly the most profound to come from the Holocaust In Messengers of G-d, Wiesel takes classic characters using classic midrash and make them utterly modern. This book might be a surprise to those familiar with Wiesel only through his Holocaust texts, but it should also be a pleasant surprise. From Adam to Yitchak to Job, Biblical characters are infused with a universality largely forgotten by modern commentators. While this is essentially a Jewish book, it should be enjoyable to anyone who's wanted to study either Classic or Biblical texts. (Amazon customer)

    In his highly-acclaimed book of the same title, he shares the deeply personal meditation that led him to discover the place within which God has chosen to dwell. This Lent course, which has been adapted from the book, helps us to reflect on the meaning of the parable for our own lives. Divided into five sessions, the course moves through the parable exploring our reaction to the story: the younger son's leaving and return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's resentment and the father's compassion. All of us who have experienced loneliness, dejection, jealousy or anger will respond to the persistent themes of homecoming, affirmation and reconciliation.

    An analysis of the claims of science shows that this discipline is just as much about faith and belief (vs. fact) as is Christian doctrine. Quantum mechanics has rendered atheism obsolete and has provided us with insights concerning the possible nature and origin of the Biblical God. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity has virtually proved that we all live forever in some kind of timeless state. Quantum observation, a consequence of quantum physics, has provided us with strong evidence that the true God is He of the Bible. Augustine of Hippo said that he probably would never have been converted were it not for Plato. Other theses entertained in this volume are that mind is primary in our world, which is the thought of God; that God emanates from The Truth, synonymous with goodness and all that is good for cognitive individuals; that faith is much more than blind belief in Him; and that the history of the Jews provides us with powerful evidence that they are the chosen people of the true God. Christianity is unique among religions in terms of reason, logic, and common sense. Here is an example of the writing to be found in my book: "Quantum observation is heavily involved with the concept of form and substance, something that greatly interested Plato. In our world, we can discern two aspects of a material object: substance, the "stuff" of which it is composed, and form, which is its shape. These two characteristics are always connected on the human level of size; according to our physical senses, any separation of them is ridiculous. On the bizarre quantum level, however, elemental entities can exist as form alone or as substance alone. When these are in the state of form, they are waves, and, when they assume the mode of substance, they exist as discrete packets--ultimately, of energy. These are distinct bodies of substance that we call quanta. I am privileged to have received an endorsement of my work from Charles Taliaferro, Chair, Department of Philosophy, St. Olaf College; Editor-in-Chief, Open Theology. It reads as follows: "Because medical doctors or physicians have made vital contributions to philosophy, from Maimonides, Avicenna, and John Locke in the history of philosophy to Raymond Tallis today, it should not surprise us to see Dr. James Frederick Ivey's superb contribution to our philosophical reflection on the bearing of current physics on Biblical faith. Perhaps it takes a person well trained in the application of science in medicine to see the ways in which the application of science, especially modern physics, quantum mechanics, and relativity have important applications in our thinking about God, the Bible, and Judeo-Christianity. The terrain is not unexplored by philosophers, theologians, and popular writers, but it is rare to see the kind of engaging clarity, breadth, and conscientious, mature reflection to be found in Ivey's book." I have a second professorial endorsement that reads thus: "In his book, The Physics and Philosophy of the Bible, Dr. James Ivey, although a physician, has done his homework in both the physical sciences and philosophy. He argues that modern physics, relativity and quantum mechanics, strongly infer the existence of God. He concludes that the historical man, Jesus of Nazareth, was not a lunatic or a liar, but truly God. He submits that Biblical Christianity has all the truth in it and is radically different from all other faiths. His book is a must read for those who have problems with science versus theology." David A. Kaufmann, Ph.D., Past Secretary, Creation Research Society and Professor of Applied Physiology (Retired), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

    In his next book, Jim takes the reader along into the wide open spaces of exploring and experiencing God beyond religion. Jim writes, "It is no secret that God can be lost beneath the waving banner of religion. Divine Nobodies is my story of how this happened to me. Sometimes you have to disentangle God from religion, even Christ from Christianity, to find the truth. With the help of some unsuspecting nobodies, I uncovered a new starting line with God. As I've put one foot in front of another, I've experienced God in ways that are deeply transforming."Each chapter revolves around a central question related to knowing God on fresh terms: Is God a belief system? Is the Bible a landing strip or launching pad? Can what we're feeling inside be God? Are we too religiously minded to be any earthly good?Brian McLaren wrote, "I am tempted to say that Jim Palmer could well be the next Don Miller, but what they have in common, along with an honest spirituality and extraordinary skill as storytellers, is a unique voice."The Library Reviews said of him, "Jim Palmer's casual, yet compelling writing style cuts through the religious rhetoric and gets to the real issues…readers will love this author! His sense of humor is alternately mixed with shocking sentences and poignant moments. Laced throughout is a refreshing honesty that ties his ideas together with a ribbon of reality…each turn of the page strips away a little more of the contrived mystery of Christianity until the simplicity and sincerity of it stands in realistic splendor."More and more people seek a deeper spirituality beyond status-quo religion. Others are left empty and weary from a shallow and narrow pop-Christianity. Palmer says that God's kingdom of love, peace, and freedom can be a present reality in any person's life. He proclaims that God is indeed in the process of birthing something deep and wide among unlikely people in unconventional ways, which is changing the world...one "nobody" at a time.